It's National Pollinator Week -- and the bees and butterflies are celebrating in my garden.
Yesterday, I spent several hours weeding, and found myself with lots of company. Bees of all sizes, from teeny-tiny ones to the biggest, fattest, fuzziest bee I've ever seen, kept stopping by to take sips from the salvia blooming in my garden.
Butterflies, too, fluttered among the purple-blue flowers. At one point, I looked up and counted six different kinds of pollinators all feasting at one plant.
My garden also has been providing a buffet for other creatures, although I'm a little less enthusistic about these dinner guests. Yesterday, I noticed my black-eyed Susans had formed big buds and seemed poised to burst into flower. But this morning, all those buds had been chomped off their stems. Deer most likely.
As for feeding humans, there's promise on that front as well. One of my six tomato plants has several small green orbs starting to grow and ripen.
And my nasturtiums are bursting with blooms, plus sporting leaves as big as my hand. I grow them because I like the way they look in patio pots, but also because I love the peppery taste of the leaves and flowers in salads. It's time to toss one up!
How about your garden -- who's eating what this week?
